A Heathrow spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider earlier on
Tuesday that departures had been suspended because of a drone
sighting.

“We are currently responding to a drone sighting at Heathrow and
are working closely with the Met Police to prevent any threat to
operational safety,” the spokesperson said in a statement to
Business Insider. “As a precautionary measure, we have stopped
departures while we investigate. We apologize to passengers for any
inconvenience this may cause.”

The shutdown follows a 32-hour hold on flights at London’s
Gatwick Airport
last month. More than 120,000 people had their journeys
disrupted as a result of the Gatwick shut down. However, following
the closure, British police
said the drone sightings may not have actually been
genuine.